NEWS ARCHIVE

​On the water: Hurricane Matthew debris removal process underway​

Hurricane Matthew cleanup is underway on the waters of Beaufort County. WJCL News went out Tuesday afternoon for a guided boat tour with Jim Minor, Beaufort County's solid waste manager.

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Updated: 10:55 PM EDT Mar 21, 2017

​On the water: Hurricane Matthew debris removal process underway​

Hurricane Matthew cleanup is underway on the waters of Beaufort County. WJCL News went out Tuesday afternoon for a guided boat tour with Jim Minor, Beaufort County's solid waste manager.

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Updated: 10:55 PM EDT Mar 21, 2017

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WEBVTT IMAGINE CLEANING UP THE DAMAGE FROM A HURRICANE...WITH YOUR BARE HANDS.THAT'S WHATS HAPPENING IN PARTS OF BEAUFORT COUNTY.WJCL'S MEGHAN SCHILLETAGGED ALONG WITH COUNTY OFFICIALS TO SEE THAT CLEAN-UP CLOSEUP.SHE JOINS US LIVE NOW FROM BLUFFTON.3IT COULDN'T HAVE BEEN A MORE BEAUTIFUL DAY OUT THERE ON THE WATER... AND CREWS ARE HARD AT WORK...REMOVING DEBRIS FROM OUR WATERWAYS..BY HAND. AND EVEN LAST WEEK WHEN IT WAS FREEZING3THEY PUT ON WET SUITS.3THE SUN GLISTENING OFF THE WATER...A REMINDER OF SPRING'S ARRIVAL IN THE LOWCOUNTRY...BUT THE MEMORY OF LAST FALL'S STORM STILL REMAINS SOT, JIM MINOR, DIRECTOR OF SOLID WASTE A LOT OF FLOATING DOCKS JET SKI DOCKS AND THEDECKS OFF OF DOCKS JUST BASICALLY FLOATED UP WITH THE STORM SURGE AND FLOATED DOWN RIVER INTO THE MARSH JIM MINOR SAYS HE'S SEEN IT ALL THESE PAST FIVE MONTHS.HE MAY BE BEAUFORCOUNTY'S DIRECTOR OF SOLID WASTE...BUT HE'S NOW OVERSEEING A MUCH BIGGER PROJECT "I GUESS ITS AN OVERWHELMING TASK FOR THE COMMUNITY BUT YOU KNOW I LIVE HERE TOO SO WE'VE HAD A GREAT TEAM ALL THE WAY UP." HIS TEAM HIRED A MARINE DEBRIS REMOVAL COMPANY CALLED "ASH BRITT" áTHAT PARTICULAR SAIL BOAT LOOKS LIKE IT WAS TIED OFF TO THAT FLOATING DOCK AND IT MIGHT HAVE FLOATEDOFF TOGETHER.áá NEARBY THOSE WORKERS GRAB DEBRIS IN THEIRHANDS AND TRUDGE THROUGH THE PLUFF MUDD AND ON TO THE BOAT SOT ITS SO LABOR INTENSIVE AND THAT'S WHAT MAKES THIS PROJECT SO DIFFICULT AND I WISH MORE FOLKS COULD SEE AND I'M GLAD YA'LL ARE HERE TODAY TO DOCUMENT BECAUSE THERE'S NO WAY YOU CAN REMOVE THIS DEBRIS OUT OF THIS MARSH WITH EQUIPMENT, IT HAS TO BE DONE BY HAND AND LOADED ON THE VESSELS AND THEN YOU THINK ABOUT THAT BOAT LOAD." MINOESTIMATES THE CLEANUP ON THE WATER WILL COST THE COUNTY 4 TO 5 MILLION DOLLARS.WORKERS COLLECTED NEARLY 10 THOUSAND CUBIC YARDS OF DEBRIS ...ANDTHAT NUMBER IS GROWING.3AND IF YOU'RE WONDERING WHY IT'S TAKING SO LONG TO REMOVE BOATS..CREWS MUST REMOVE ANY DANGERS FROM THE VESSEL FIRST..INCLUDING THINGS LIKE BATTERIES AND THE DIESELFUEL.THEY DON'T WANT TO LEAK DIESEL FUEL INTO OUR WATERWAYS BECAUSE THEY TRIED TO MOVE TOO QUICKLY.REPORTING LIVE IN BLUFFTON, MEGHAN SCHILLER WJCL 22 NEW

​On the water: Hurricane Matthew debris removal process underway​

Hurricane Matthew cleanup is underway on the waters of Beaufort County. WJCL News went out Tuesday afternoon for a guided boat tour with Jim Minor, Beaufort County's solid waste manager.

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Updated: 10:55 PM EDT Mar 21, 2017

Hilton Head, SC —

Hurricane Matthew cleanup is underway on the waters of Beaufort County.

That cleanup has been delayed for months due to confusion over who was "responsible" for removing the damaged boats, docks and other debris.

Once it was determined that the county was responsible, the county hired AshBritt, Inc. to complete the debris removal.

Now the company and its contractors are scrambling to get as much done as possible before the April 2 deadline. That deadline is when the eligibility for FEMA reimbursement expires.

Crews are currently working along the shoreline with a nearby survey boat. Each crew member is carrying debris, such as pieces of wood and logs, from the shoreline through the murky waters and plus mud and back to the boat. One the boat is fully loaded, it begins an hour long journey back to the dumpsters at Palmetto Bay Marina. That material is then hauled to a nearby landfill.

Minor estimates the marine debris cleanup will cost the county 4 or 5 million dollars and that the entire cost for the county is nearly 30 million dollars.